Moroccan Context of Motorways Infrastructures' Financing.

The construction, the exploitation and the maintenance of motorways in Morocco is entrusted to the unique private concessionary company (ADM) whoseshareholding is mostly public; this company was created in 1989 on the basis of 50-year-old concessions. The financing of these investments is ensured by resorting to concessionary loans from financial backers and to recapitalizations provided by the State, represented by the Treasury and Hassan II Fund for Economic and Social Development. However, the scheme of national motorway armature, which envisages the realization of 1500km of motorways by 2010, is being accomplished thanks namely to the concomitant implementation of the principle of concession at pay and to the endorsement system which advocates financial solidarity between money-generating motorwaysections and those which do not generate money in the medium term. This equalization system has also allowed the State to limit its financial commitments in building the motorway network to less than one quarter of the overall investment. Since 1991, ADM has moved towards concessionary financings, in return of the sovereign guarantee, from international financial institutions like EIB, JBIC and Arab and Islamic Funds (AFESD, KFAED, ADF, IDB), which provide attractive and preferential conditions: an interest rateof 4%, remission periods of about 5 years and medium repayment duration of 15 years. Nevertheless, this financing mode generates serious risks likethe change risk which might be discarded by resorting to bond and bank loans at a competitive financing cost. The financing via bond market provides lots of advantages such as maturity choice, type of interest rate and repayment mode. However, local bank financing permits to mobilize capitals in much reduced deadlines and with advantageous financial conditions. However, in the present absence of a State guarantee or mortgage of pay revenues for the benefit of local banks, commercial credits prove to be too expensive given the inadequate intrinsic profitability of motorway projects andADM's precarious financial situation. To solve this deficiency, other financing alternatives are expected in the foreseeable future such as the securitization of the future incomes of segments. For the covering abstract see ITRD E139491.